An Italian Senate committee is likely to start a process on Friday to expel Silvio Berlusconi from parliament following his conviction for tax fraud, meaning the former prime minister's fate could be sealed within weeks.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Syria on Monday to place its stockpile of chemical weapons under international control as a possible means to avert military strikes being considered by the United States and its allies.

It’s the Ukranian feminist group that embarrassed President Putin. Its activists have staged many protests against sexual and political repression by stripping to their waists in carefully choreographed media stunts.